Brian Hartline ranks best wide receivers he coached at Ohio State

Since joining the Buckeyes coaching staff, Ohio State wide receivers coach turned offensive coordinator Brian Hartline has had some elite talent at the position. During a recent interview with Taylor Lewan and Will Compton on the Bussin’ With The Boys Podcast, the Buckeyes coach gave his ranking of the best wide receivers he’s had the pleasure of coaching at Ohio State.

With a plethora of riches to choose from, Hartline began the rankings with one of his current receivers. Topping his list is Marvin Harrison Jr.

“I would say Marvin right now. (He’s) NFL-like, NFL makeup, NFL prototype, right? Marvin’s an NFL prototype,” said Hartline. “And then I think, you have to go Jaxon (Smith-Njigba), right? And the only reason why I feel very comfortable saying that is because Chris (Olave) and Garrett (Wilson) chose him as well. Chris and Garrett, you know Garrett had a hell of a year. Obviously, Rookie of the Year. You’d probably have to give him the nod just because of that.”

With Jaxon Smith-Njigba sidelined for much of the season, it gave Marvin Harrison Jr the perfect opportunity to showcase his skillset, and he did not disappoint. In year two with the program, Harrison led Ohio State in receptions (77), receiving yards (1,263), and touchdowns (14).

The year prior, in the 2021 season, Smith-Njigba, along with Chris Olave and Garrett Wilson, were a three-headed monster in Ohio State’s passing game. Smith-Njigba and Wilson were first and second on the team in receptions and receiving yards. Meanwhile, Olave led the Buckeyes in receiving touchdowns with 13.

Hartline had two more spots in his Top Five rankings. But for him, it was difficult to give the nod to one over the other. Still, in the end, he ultimately gave Terry McLaurin the nod over Olave. And he cited the Washington Commanders’ top receiving threat’s sustained success at the next level as his deciding factor.

“And then it’s between Terry and Chris. One was the 11th overall pick, and one makes $23 million a year. So it’s kind of a coin flip. I would say probably Terry right now because he’s done it in the NFL for three or four-plus years. That’s worth its weight in gold to me. A guy doing it one year is one thing. And Chris knows how much I love him. But you’re talking about an elite group of dudes there. I think that it’s easy to do once; really hard to do it two, three, four, five more years like that.”

Regardless of how you rank them, to have five receivers such as the ones mentioned above in your receiving room, it’s a pretty impressive feat. McLaurin, Olave, and Wilson have all been successful in the NFL, with two of the three also being selected in the first round.

Smith-Njigba and Harrison are also projected to be top picks in their respective drafts. It’s clear to see that Hartline has had an embarrassment of riches at Ohio State. And those riches grew again on Tuesday night with the commitment of 2024 New Haven (Ind.) wide receiver Mylan Graham, an On3 Industry five-star recruit.

Graham pointed to Hartline as a primary reason for his decision to commit to the Buckeyes.

“I just feel like they are the program I can trust the most with where I’m trying to get to (NFL 1st round), which Coach Hartline I kinda felt like it was a no-brainer with the track record and development ever since he’s got to Ohio State,” said Graham to On3’s Hayes Fawcett on Tuesday. “They run an amazing offensive system that gets the players the ball and opportunity to show what they can do. Every time I get there on campus I already feel like I’m home.”

Graham is just the latest in a long line of highly-touted playmakers that Hartline has added to his arsenal. An arsenal that will continue to get tougher to rank with each new addition.